Wold provides update on local school security in wake of Newtown shooting

Chief met with school officials early Monday to review security policy

Published: Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 8:27 a.m. CDT

By Jeanne Millsap — Herald Correspondent

CHANNAHON — After a moment of silence for the passing of Grundy County Sheriff Terry Marketti and for the victims of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, the Channahon Village Board got an update on area school security from Police Chief Jeff Wold.

“For every school event, we have scheduled officers,” Wold said. “We do have a crisis plan in place, and we revisited it.”

Wold said first thing Monday morning he attended a meeting with the superintendent and principals of Channahon Dist. 17 schools. They reviewed security policy and began implementation of one or two additions. There will also be an increased police presence at the schools this week and in the near future.

“I think our school district does a very good job at security,” Wold told the board.

Village President Joe Cook also remembered Marketti and said that he had been a good public servant for many, many years. He was also active in a number of community service organizations, he said.

“He will be missed,” Cook said.

Village Administrator Joe Pena also told the board that residents should be seeing on their upcoming electric bills the results of joining the electric aggregation.

The board, however, got what many residents would consider bad news regarding the telecommunications tax put in place last January on cell phones, land phones, Internet and e-mail services. The tax was instituted as a way to increase revenue into the cash-strapped village.

The village’s revenue from its sales tax rebate agreements with certain businesses had come to a sudden halt, coming into question with three lawsuits against the village, and the state of Illinois had begun withholding Channahon’s rebate dollars. Other revenues were down due to the recession.

The board had a choice of the percentage of the new tax, from 0 to 5 percent, and trustees set the tax at 5percent.

This week, Pena recommended the tax remain at 5 percent for 2013, but perhaps only for one more year.

“While we still have concern over sales tax dollars and rebate fund issues,” Pena wrote in a memo to the board, “we have achieved stability and appear to have begun to turn things around.”

Pena said staff initially projected $400,000 in revenue from the new tax, and the village so far has seen $190,358. Projections for the year are around $380,000. Pena recommended the village keep the tax at 5 percent and continue to use it for operational needs.

The board this week also:

• Approved the proposal from Layne Christensen Company in the amount of $12,089 to inspect and re-build Well #6 bowl assembly.

• Approved the proposal from the same firm in the amount of $19,255 to inspect and repair Well #6 column pipe.